Who is in charge of federal drug classification of marijuana? Nobody?

While growing, possessing and using marijuana buds like these is now legal in four states and the District of Columbia, federal officials still classify marijuana as a Schedule One drug, meaning it is considered as dangerous as heroin and just as illegal under federal law.(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Whose responsibility is it that the federal government still classifies marijuana as being as dangerous as heroin?

Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have approved the plant’s use as a medicine. Four states and D.C. have even approved recreational use by adults.

Yet the White House and Congress continue to point fingers at each other regarding the forty-five year old classification of the plant as a Schedule One drug.

A federal judge in Northern California could conceivably end the impasse with a long-expected ruling in a case against a crew indicted on charges of growing cannabis on federal forest lands.

That classification, visible here on the website of the Drug Enforcement Administration, means that growing, possessing, using, or selling the plant or its derivatives is still subject to very high criminal penalties. The same classification also has severely inhibited federal sponsorship of any medical research. The CSA also serves as the national implementing legislation for the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, a global treaty banning harmful drugs.

The Washington Post explored the issue of responsibility recently, but drew a blank when it came to conclusions.

“I think that Congress ultimately has to do that (reclassify marijuana). This is . . . a topic that ultimately, I think ought to be engaged in by our nation, informed by the experiences that we see in Colorado, in Washington. There is, I think, a legitimate debate to be had on both sides of that question — where marijuana ought to be in terms of its scheduling.”

— U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, National Press Club speech, Feb. 17, 2015

“I am concerned, however, about your comments regarding the classification of marijuana . . . As you know, you already have the statutory authority to reclassify marijuana.”

Holder was asked this question at the National Press Club event about marijuana: “Under the Controlled Substances Act, the administration has the power to reclassify marijuana with no further congressional action needed. Do you think that is something that the president should consider in the next couple years?”

Legalization advocates pushed back to Holder’s answer after the event, especially after Cohen, a longtime advocate of rescheduling marijuana, sent his letter in response. Some advocates took to social media to criticize Holder for denying he has authority. They encouraged one another on Facebook and Twitter to flood Holder’s office with calls challenging his statement. They made another push asking him to reclassify marijuana, noting that President Barack Obama has said that he does not believe marijuana is more dangerous than alcohol.

Under federal law, the attorney general can move to add, reschedule or remove drugs on his own, at the request of the health and human services secretary or in response to a public petition. But the law also requires the attorney general to gather data and scientific and medical evaluation from the HHS secretary before doing so.

Congress can pass laws to change the scheduling of drugs. Even if the attorney general does decide to move toward rescheduling, Congress can overturn his decision, experts say.

The Drug Enforcement Administration already has denied a petition to reschedule the drug, based on findings by HHS. HHS determined that marijuana has a “high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States,” leading the DEA to reject the petition in 2011. The petition was filed nearly a decade earlier, in 2002.

As the Washington Post notes, this statement reflects the catch-22 on cannabis: As long as marijuana is a Schedule I drug, there are limitations to conducting the extensive clinical trials required to take it out of Schedule I.

As part of a criminal trial involving alleged marijuana growers in Northern California, U.S. District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller held a five-day hearing late last year to evaluate the current scientific research on marijuana use and to determine whether the Schedule 1 designation is unconstitutional, as the defendants contend.

The judge’s decision could come on March 11, when she is scheduled to hold a status hearing in the case, titled USA v. Schweder et al.

During the arguments, the defense emphasized how irrational it is for marijuana to be prohibited under federal law as having “no accepted medical use,” now that 23 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana. The prosecutor admitted that there is “encouraging research” showing marijuana’s medical value but claimed we’re “not there yet.”